I sat on a chair in the cafeteria. Looking around for Shin Hayato, I crossed my leg and tapped on the table a few times.
The speaker rang once more,
"Since all of you have received your wages, we will call the names of those who received temporary contract with the Elysium people."
I placed my head on my hand, listening with full focus. None of them seemed interesting, just a few years contract as a guard or to produce a robot. Despite that, the payments are probably lower than $1000.
I stood up and sighed, patience running down when I haven't seen Shin Hayato anywhere. Before I could head out, someone placed a hand on my shoulder.
I turned to see Shin Hayato holding his pouch,
"Where have you been ?"
He scratched the back of his head,
"It was crowded. But the payment for me was worth it at least. How much did you get ?"
I shrugged and frowned,
"$100 for washing the TerraRider. Not that much but it makes sense. How about you ?"
He opened the pouch and let me see it,
"$355 for carrying crates. It gave me back pain from all of that."
I nodded and returned the pouch,
"How about Sheng Yue and Cassandra ?"
Shin Hayato shook his head and crossed his arms,
"Haven't seen them anywhere. Sheng Yue is off to do her extra works and as for Cassandra, I still don't know—"
A familiar calm, medium low voice interrupted Shin Hayato,
"How much did you get ?"
Both of us turned to where the voice came from. Cassandra tossed the coins in her hand then placed them back into the pouch.
Shin Hayato raised his head a little,
"Three hundred something. How about you ?"
Cassandra sat on a chair and leaned on it,
"$650 for patrolling outside. Wasn't the best experience, nearly froze after loosening my helmet a bit."
I tilted my head and tapped on my head,
"Then, where are our helmets ?"
Shin Hayato took a deep breath and frowned,
"Taken and probably kept somewhere. We'll have to wait for Sheng Yue to finish her extra work."
Cassandra scoffed, smirking when her shoulders shake,
"What do you expect ? First day at work in here and she is already causing chaos. I'm not surprised if we suddenly get kicked out because of her."
Shin Hayato nodded before returning to his usual composure,
"So, shall we discuss what we found ? Any ways to escape ?"
I tilted my head, remembering something from before,
"There's a water tunnel. But I hardly think it's a good idea."
Cassandra threw her hands,
"Oh come on ! As long as there's a way out, that's enough. Besides, do you want to postpone the chase ? I'd rather not."
Shin Hayato flicked his tongue,
"She's got a good point. We need to hurry up. Time is running out faster than we thought."
I tried to give another reason,
"Yes but I'm afraid there are high chances of us freezing our lungs there. It's not entirely clean—"
Cassandra raised a brow and crossed her arms,
"So ? If I'm not wrong, our TerraRider is here too right ? Then just break into the tunnel ! It's that simple !"
I blinked slowly at her, freezing completely on the spot,
"But—"
Cassandra shoved Skov's weapon to Shin Hayato,
"Then let's get going ! Drag Sheng Yue with us."
I raised my hand a little, my voice cracking a little,
"But the people here ! They won't have any water supplies !"
Cassandra glanced back at me when she headed to the exit,
"So ? As long as we escape, it's already enough."
At the same time, I sprinted to get closer and raised my voice slightly,
"But the people ! Without any source of water, they'll die of dehydration !"
Cassandra pinched the bridge of her nose,
"Look, I don't need you to act all saviors and all helping. I'm not in the mood to fight right now, so take it or leave it."
I stuttered, finding more reasons to convince her,
"But that doesn't mean we can—"
Cassandra growled and narrowed her eyes,
"They treated us as if we're nothing. It's better if we treat them fairly."
I extended my hand to point at the people passing by,
"But to me, they're kind ! It's not like—"
Cassandra marched towards me and jabbed a finger at my shoulder,
"Make your own decisions, Aléssio. Take it or leave it."
She stared at the floor, waking faster before finally disappearing. Shin Hayato sighed and bowed his head, jogging to catch up to Cassandra.
I stood in my spot, still fidgeting with my fingers. What she said was right, yet I couldn't stand looking at them losing one of their source of life.
I slumped over to a chair, scrolling through my ChronoLume that is barely interesting. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
Are there any other ways to escape ?
Should I apologize to her ?
I opened my eyes slowly, looking blankly at the ceiling. The silence in the cafeteria made it worse than it should've been. I stood up from the chair then strolled around.
One step.
Two step.
How much was it ? I didn't count. Even a better question pop up, why should I count ?
I paused my steps, analyzing the surroundings. I tried to find a HoloSign even though there were none.
"Hey Blondie ! Guess what, I'm finally freed from my misery !"
That familiar voice made me tense up. In order to prevent getting knocked unconscious, I ran like a maniac.
Screaming on top of my lungs,
"Don't ! Stay back ! Don't wall-slap me—"
But it was too late...
SLAP
At the same time, my body fell to the floor. A wave of nausea surged in alongside a blurry vision. My fingers twitched as the sound around me are muffled. I tried to raise my head a little.
A muffled question kept ringing in my ears,
"Blondie ? Are you okay ?"
THUD
My head hit the floor as I closed my eyes, drifting to the unknown.
◇ ◇ ◇
"Aléssio ?"
The lights shine bright into my eyes. I attempted to move my hand to cover my eyes. Despite that, my arms stayed still and unwilling to cooporate.
I closed my eyes and moved my head away from the light.
An authorative sound cut through,
"Aléssio, we recommend you to stay still. If you do not, we have no other options to pour another soup right into your mouth."
I opened my eyes while my jaws dropped. My stomach gurgled in response. My legs were also uncooperative, as if I was strained by something.
Someone rushed over to where the voice appeared,
"Hey, he is finally awake ! Also what's in that soup ? It taste very bad and bitter."
I closed my eyes and smiled at myself. My tongue tasted bitter than usual, even my stomach now felt like it was being stabbed by needles.
The same authorative voice explained,
"It's just medicine and soup that we have. It's not like he is going to—"
FRRT
I rolled over the bed to cover my face with the pillow. My cheek continued to bloom as red as tomatoes. I bit my lips and stifled a laugh.
I looked back at the soggy bacon I ate, added with this mysterious soup I was force fed. I clenched my fist tight, gripping the pillow.
I have officially lost my dignity because of meals. It's quite a fortune that the mission isn't documented to public. I sighed in relief, praying it was only just a temporary stomachache.
Ggggrrrr-umph
Perhaps I should start counting exactly how many seconds I have left to find a bathroom.